Water-wheel.



No. 648,055. Patented Apr. 24, 1900'.

w. n. REYNOLDS.

WATER WHEEL.

(Applicatiop ma me. '27,'1s9s.)

(No Mou-el.) 2 sheets-sheet l.

Il!! g l. milf-till! No. 648,055. Patented Apr. 24,1900.

w. D. REYNOLDS.

WATER WHEEL.

(Application med Dsc. 27, 189B.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

VILLIAM D. REYNOLDS, OF MOUNTAIN HOME, IDAHO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOWILLIAM F. SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

WATER-WH EEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 648,055, dated April24, 1900. Application iiled December 27. 1898. Serial No. 700,309I (Nomodel.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D; REYNOLDS,

a citizen of the United States, residing in y Mountain Home, Idaho, haveinvented an Improvement in WatenWheels, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to Water-Wheels, and has for its object theproduction of a motor- Wheel that will be light and easily trans- Ioported and yet of high eiciency inproportion to its Weight and size. Inaddition it is designed to have no supertiuous parts, to be readily setup and used where elaborate foundations and fittings are not obtainable,and

I5 to be very readily repaired if accidentally damaged. f

A service in which my new motor-wheel is of particular value is inderiving power from streams or falls in Wild or sparsely-settled 2ocountry. in the woods and mountains of the northwest and in regionsWhere it would be next to impossible to transport cumbrous andcomplicated apparatus-such as turbines with their piping, valves,shafting, dre-and where it would not vpay to invest the capital requiredeven if transportation Were easy. Of course this is not to mean that themotor is not of Wide use in all iields Where water rights are running toWaste and Where po'wer f 3o for field work, mining, machinery, dto., isrequired. It is a fact, however, that the points of design aboveenumerated bid fair to make the wheel indispensable incertainfields,while useful everywhere.

Speaking generally, in order to attain my ends I use a tilting frame anda side-immersion wheel journaled on a vertical shaft carried by theframe, so that, if the frame be lo- A cated at any convenient spot onthe bank the 4o Wheel may be raised or lowered by simply tilting theframe, the variation in depth of immersion of the paddles serving todetermine the exact power developed. I believe this specific arrangementto be original with me, although I am aware that horizontalcurrent-Wheels7 have been used and that oblique immersion isvery old. AIam also aware that ordinary undershot Wheels-have been mountedheretofore on tilting frames;

but the combination I shall set out is more 5o than any of these, andnone of them can obtain by their construction the results I haveproduced.

The verticalor substantially-vertical journals and shaft-bearings of mywheel permit 5 5 the use of ballbearings. l-Ieretofore,in heavyworkparticularly or Where the power transmitted was considerable, theWear from the direct Weight on the bearings and the initial strain weresuch as to forbid the use of balls 6o for the reason that only a fewballs in the upper side of the bearing received the entire strain at agiven moment, frequently break- .ing and splintering as a resultthereof, then grinding out the bearing-surfaces and jamming, andconsequent-ly crushing, the other balls, thus completely ruining thebearings and rendering inoperative an entire machine. By my arrangementthe Weight of the Wheel is balanced and distributed over all the balls7o in the bearings, and-each takes a portion of the thrust due to theWater impact on the blades, a factor of safety being thus introducedthat insures the long life of the balls and the consequent safe use ofthe entire wheel out of reach of repair-shops.

Other advantages will become apparent as I proceed with the detaileddescription.

My invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichthe same let- 8o ters ofvreference point out the same parts throughout.

Referring to thedrawings, Figure l is a side View of my motor-Wheel asmounted ready for use, but not yet immersed, the line 4of the bank andthe water-line being indicated in a conventional manner. Fig. 2 is aplan View.

In Fig. l, E indicates a bank, and WV the surface, of a moving stream.The stream for 9o the proper utilization of my invention may be anymoving body of water from an oceancurrent to a mill-race. The bank,which is here represented in a conventional `Vmanner only, may benatural, of earth or rocks, or it may be artificial, such as asuitablestone pier or abutment or a Wooden structure. The rate of iowfor the current in the stream is immaterial so far as successfuloperation of the motor goes, greater velocity producing no added strainsand being offset for purposes of regulation by regulating the depth ofimmersion of the blades or paddles.

Supported upon the bank and fastened securely thereto is a bed-plate A.I secure this bed-plate in various ways, according to the nature of thebank. In the present case I have shown it for the purposes ofillustration as held down by spikes S. In the case of an earthen bankthe spikes would be driven into posts sunk in the ground, and in thecase of a rocky bank iron bands or bolts secured in leaded sockets areused. I do not limit myself, however, to any particulan method offastening, as the circumstances of the particular case will alwaysdetermine the means to be used.

Secured to the bed-plate A are supportingposts a', adapted to receive attheir upper ends a transverse bolt a2, upon which is joui'- naled atilting bar or lever A, which thus moves in the plane of the bed-plateaxis. This tilting bar is of sufficient length to extend out aconsiderable distance over the stream, and it also extends inwardly overthe bed-plate to a suliicient distance to give a good leverage forraising and lowering the weight of the wheel.

Secured to and extending upwardly from the bed-plate A are a pair ofarcs a a, which lie upon opposite sides of the tilting lever A and whosecenter of curvature is in the axis of the bolt a2. These arcs areprovided with perforations (t3, corresponding to perforations in thelever A. A pin or bolt a300 is adapted to be inserted through any of theperforations (t3 in order to retain the lever in any angle of positionto which it has been set. In order that the lever may be movedlongitudinally as well as angularly when desired to move the wheel in orout over the water, I provide the lever A with additional perforationsd20 to take the bolt a? and ax to take the bolt a300.

Securely attached to the outer end of the tilting lever A, as by boltsand nuts h2, is a bent metallic arm B. For the purpose of securinglightness this is usually made of a plate of metal with ribs struck up'or cast thereon inorder to stiifen it. There are several reasons for theemployment of this metal arm. It will be observed that it has its outerend elevated a considerable distance above the surface of the tiltinglever, thus allowing a clearance for the paddles of the wheel on theirihward swing. It also reduces the number of parts necessary to becarried in transporting the wheel, as the tilting lever and thebed-plate can be hewn out ofV any timber available at the place of use.Rigidly secured to the outer and upper end of this metal arm B is asubstantially-vertical shaft b, upon which the wheel proper isjournaled. This is accomplished by'means of the freely-revoluble hubs cand c', to which are rigidly secured the rings c2 and c3, which receivethe innerends (preferably screw-threaded) of the radial arms D and D'.The only connection between the hubs in the present construction isthrough the arms D D', although, if desired,they may be connectedtogether in any. other suitable way. The radial arms may be solid ortubular; but in either case they are bent downwardly and their outerends are flattened for a considerable distance and perforated, as at d,to receive screw-bolts d', by which are attached the spoons or blades O'of the wheel C. These blades are concavo-con- Vex or spoon-shaped, theconcave side being always turned upstream. This insures a fullutilization of the current and permits the blades to leave the waterwithout backlash. In order that the blades may be adjusted upon the armsto'auy desired dip, I arrange them` as follows: The arms beingperforated, each with a row of holes, and the arms lying parallel toeach other, corresponding rows of holes must be made in the blade toregister with the perforations in the arms. I shall speak of these aspairs of rows, because there are two arms and there m-ust always be onerow or set of holes for each arm. Now as there are three bolts shown ineach arm in Fig. l I provide not only the perforations d for normalengagement, but additional holcs or perforations d2 cl2, in sets ofthree'each, the middle one of each set being the same and the end holesbeing angularlydisplaced, so that the middle bolt in each arm D and D'may be retained, while the-other bolts are removed and the blade turnedup or down on lthe arms, which spring slightly, as required, to permitthe'rotation around the two bolts. I shall refer to these rows of holesas pairs of rows angularly displaced from the normal. This is a veryimportant feature where the wheel is to be used in turbulent streams.

Firmly secured upon ,the head of the shaft b, as by a nut Z110, is ahorizontal arm Bf, recessed at 'b3 and carrying a journal-box bl.Journaled in this box, which is preferably iitted with ball-bearings, isa shaft F, carrying upon its outer end a bevel-gearf, which lies withinthe recess b3 and meshes with a similar but larger bevel-gear c4, thelatter being rigidly mounted concen trically with and upon the wheel-boxc. The shaft F is the power-transmitting shaft and is carried inwardly,overlying the entire machine, to any desired distance. It is preferablyprovided with universal joints to permit of the necessary raising andlowering of the wheel.

The operation of my machine, as thus described, is as follows: Havingfixed the bedplate and mounted the machine, as shown in Fig. l, thepower-shaft F is connected up to the machinery that is to be driven. Thepin a300 is then withdrawn and the tilting lever adjusted by raising itsinner end until the outer blades C of the wheel enter the current." TheWheel will immediately begin to revolve, and the amount of power is thendetermined by raising or lowering the same un- IIO til the proper depthof immersion is had. The pin a300 is then rensertedthrough theparticular aperture ctto remain until it is desired again to raise thewheel.

vIn order to provide for reverse rotation of the wheel-that is, in orderthat the wheel may be opera-ted upon a given bank, no matter whichdirect-ion the current takes-it is only necessary to remove all thescrew-bolts CZ and secure the blades upon the reverse side of the arms DD.

Withthis wheel when it is desired to pack and ship the parts it shouldbe observed that only an inclosure of very small dimensions is required.The bolts b2 areremoved. The arm B is taken off the shaft. blades C' areremoved. The parts a and a, with the spikes or other securing means S,are taken away from the bed-plate A. The arms D and D are unscrewed fromthe hubs, and the entire aggregation of parts may then be packed in avery small compass. The bedplate and the tilting lever may be packed ornot, according to circumstances. There area number of changes which.may

, be made in the arrangement of the parts hereinbefore set forth and inthe size and shapes of the various members without departing from thescope and purview of my invention.

I wish it to be clearly understood 'that I conte mplate including allsuch changes and rear-v The shaft F and the I secured to said hubs, andradial bladesor paddles adjustably secu red'to said arms, substantiallyas described.

2. A portable water-wheel or hydraulic motor comprising the followinginstrumentalities: a bed-plate', side plates and guides detachablysecured to said bed-plate, a tilting leverjournaled between said sideplates and adapted to oscillate between the guides, a

metallic supporting-arm detachably secured "whereby the entire structuremay be knocked down and packed into a small compass, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a water-wheel, a pair of hubs and radial arms extending outtherefrom, in pairs;

the ends of each pair ot' arms being substantially parallel andcorrespondingly perforated for the reception of a set of bolts, andblades of concavo-convex or spoon shape each provided with several rowsof perforations, in

pairs-to correspond to the perforations in the radial arms, one doublerow of holes being arranged along the length of the blade, and theothers on lines at angles thereto; so that whether the blade is appliedto the arms straight or at an angle with its outer end up or down, someof the pairs of rows of perforations in the blade will be found to,register with those in the arms, so as to secure it in position,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twowitnesses, thisBth day of December, A. D. 1898.

WILLIAM D. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

' R. W. SMITH,

FRANK HoBBs.

